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| October 15, 2008 |
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Bishop’s love for the Eucharist inspires passionate letter to flockST. PETERSBURG | Because of his love of the Eucharist, Bishop Robert N. Lynch decided to write a letter to the people in the Diocese of St. Petersburg. “This pastoral letter is a love letter from me to you,” he said during his homily at a Nov. 25 Mass at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle. The Mass was the official introduction of “Living Eucharist: Gathered, Nourished, Sent,” the bishop’s first-ever pastoral letter. Copies were made available to those who attended, and the bishop will be traveling throughout the diocese in the coming weeks to introduce it at other parishes and Catholic schools. SCHEDULEClick The bishop acknowledged that the 20-page letter was long, saying that a friend of his who read it recently called it “the longest love letter” he’s ever read. But love inspires passion, and Bishop Lynch referred to the letter as representing his “best efforts to provide a baseline, a starting point if you will, for all of us to reflect, rediscover and re-examine our faith.” And part of that reflection involved a series of questions the bishop posed at the beginning of his homily. “Do you truly believe you receive Christ at Mass as you approach the altar at Communion or might you think that Communion is just a remembrance, a memorial of a single event in the life of Jesus?” he asked. “Do you fully understand and are you aware of the absolute necessity to become he whom you receive and your responsibility to bring the Eucharist into the world in which you live?” The release of the letter is part of a diocesan initiative over the next three years to help people “to live Christ, to breathe Christ and to be Christ,” he said. EXCERPTSThe following are excerpts from Bishop Lynch’s pastoral letter on the Eucharist: “Each celebration of the Mass must be approached with humility, reverence and awe. At the heart of the great mystery is Christ. We listen humbly as he speaks to us in his word. We reverently take up ordinary bread and a cup of wine — basic, common elements of our sustenance — and invoke the Spirit’s action, transforming them into the sacred, the holy, the Christ.” “As Catholics, we believe that in the Eucharist we really and truly encounter the living Christ — body, blood, soul and divinity. … At the core of the Eucharist is Christ — Christ whom we receive under the appearance of bread and wine. In this way, we become Christ, and in becoming Christ, we are called to be Christ for others.” “The time spent in church before Mass is not the time for catching up with friends and neighbors. That can come after the celebration. Before Mass, a word of greeting or a smile are enough to give those sitting nearby. It is far more important to use these special moments to place oneself in the presence of God.” “I realize that there are many things to do after Mass — places to go, people to see, obligations to attend to. Still, to the extent that circumstances permit, I encourage and ask those who can to remain for a few moments of silent thanksgiving — a very special time of personal encounter with the Lord. And now, having prayed with our sisters and brothers in faith, listened to God’s word, recalled Christ’s sacrifice on Calvary, and ‘remembered’ his Last Supper, we leave church fortified, refreshed and renewed, ready to be Christ to others.” The letter gives a clear overview of the Eucharist and the Mass. It starts with a brief background of the early Christian community responding to Jesus’ words to his disciples the night before he died: the command to “do this in memory of me.” Celebrating the meal in the breaking of the bread and the drinking of the wine has been a celebration of faith during the past 2,000 years, and a way to encounter and receive Jesus himself, the bishop wrote in the letter. Bishop Lynch goes on to offer guidance and background on the various aspects of the Mass, starting with how to prepare for Mass and ending with the concluding rite. Along the way, he reminds people that dressing appropriately and modestly, and participating in the Mass with “full, conscious and active participation” are important. He also reminds them that no one should receive Communion if he is conscious of committing a serious sin that has not been confessed or forgiven during the sacrament of reconciliation. The bishop also constantly refers to the fact that people who receive the Eucharist should be transformed. He quotes St. Augustine, who once said regarding the eucharistic celebration that “we are to become what we receive.” And that means that people are meant to be evangelists — sent out at the end of Mass to proclaim and live the church’s mission of “healing, mercy, justice and proclaiming the good news,” he wrote. And so with all that in mind, he mentions that the emphasis on learning about the Eucharist will begin with the instruction of first communicants and their parents and will include Catholic schools of all grades and religious education programs. Teachers, catechists, those who are ordained and laypeople will also participate in learning more about the Eucharist in order to help others know and love it better, too, he wrote. As part of the three-year diocesan renewal process, the focus during the first year will be on the “first pillar of the Mass”: the Liturgy of the Word. The second year will focus on the Liturgy of the Eucharist. And the final year will be spent examining what it means to carry Christ into the world and will include a special diocesan celebration of the Eucharist, he wrote. At the end of the letter, he offers “anticipated applications” of the Living Eucharist initiative, such as “the word of God is to be proclaimed well” and “Communion under both kinds (bread and wine) is the norm for all eucharistic celebrations in the diocese.” He also hopes that parishes renew efforts to build or strengthen outreach to the poor and develop ministries that promote and build “a just and merciful society.” Study questions round out the end of the letter. “If this is too much,” the bishop said, with a smile, referring to the length of the letter, “there is also a DVD available. That will take you about the same time to watch as this will take you to read.” He said the DVD would be available at parishes across the diocese shortly. The Mass was also attended by representatives from the various parishes that make up the lower Pinellas County Deanery. The bishop presented each parish with a Book of the Gospel as a way to commemorate the importance of the Liturgy of the Word during the first year of the initiative. During his upcoming trips to introduce the letter to other parishes in various parts of the diocese, he will also present representatives with a Book of the Gospel. After Mass, the reaction to the bishop’s message was positive. Lindsay Lubick, 16, and several others from Most Holy Name of Jesus Parish in Gulfport made the trip to the cathedral to hear what the bishop had to say about the initiative. She had two copies of the pastoral letter with her: one for herself and one for her father, who couldn’t make it that morning to the Mass, she said. She said it was important for her to know more about the Eucharist. “Everybody should know about it,” she said. “The more you know, the better you understand it.” Pam Puffer, a parishioner of the cathedral, said she had already read some of the letter and found it to be “beautiful.” She also found the topic invaluable. “We need to get closer in touch with the reason why we are here at Mass — the Eucharist being the center of our lives and what a gift it is,” she said. Mary and Ron Reid, a married couple, have already started learning about the Eucharist, having participated in a small faith community at the cathedral, where they are parishioners. Mary Reid said she was “encouraged” that the bishop wanted people to learn more about the Eucharist, and she added she was looking forward to a “renewal” within the church as one of the fruits of the initiative. The renewal process won’t be easy, Ron Reid added, saying that expressing love is not always simple. “Without God’s help, we tend to turn more to ourselves,” he said. Mary Reid added that she was going to be talking to their young-adult son about the pastoral letter, hoping that he will read it or discuss it with them. At the very least, they will try to set an example. “We need to try to live it in our lives,” she said.
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